Tagged: pepperjack

Hey ya’ll!! So happy it’s finally Wednesday, wouldn’t you agree?! I’m terribly sorry for my lack of posts this last week. It’s been a pretty busy time – and I know it’s just going to get busier in the coming months!! When I get busy…I get stuck in food ruts!! Do you have the same problem? It’s a little disappointing that I was on such a roll posting a new recipe every week and then *BAM* the busy hit and it’s just sooooo much easier to plan meals that are tried and true rather than trying to get creative. On this week’s menu I’ve got all of my fallbacks – chicken fajitas, teriyaki tilapia with brown rice and salad, and chicken pesto tortilla pizzas. Of course I’m pretty lucky to only have to prepare dinner for the hubs and I a mere three nights this week – because Friday we’re leaving for South Carolina!! Woot!!! I am so excited to get our mini vaca on (I am less excited for the car ride and the amount of times I will need to stop to pee.)

As usual, a big thank you goes out to Miss Jenn at Peas and Crayons for hosting this linkup every week. Time for the foods (albeit pretty standard and what I’ve been eating lots of lately) I ate this Monday!

Breakfast: Another one of my fallbacks, banana chocolate chip protein muffins. I made a double batch so we can take some on the road with us this weekend, too! Though I’m getting to a point where I’m so effing hungry all the time that these guys only fill me up until about 9:30 before I want to snack and I used to be able to make it to 10. I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the baby growing in my belly. I’m also pretty sure she loves these muffins, because after I eat them she usually does a little dance for about a half hour or so. I also had some decaf earl gray in my Charleston Tea Plantation mug to prepare for the weekend!!

Snack: My first snack of the day was a hard-boiled egg and some 2% pepperjack. This particular photo is NOT recycled. I do actually always make a smiley face with this snack…because why not?

Snack Again: Still hungry? Yes! At about 11 I munched on a gala apple.

Lunch: I made up a batch of my ravioli minestrone last Thursday maybe…either way…it was a big batch and I’m still enjoying the leftovers. This bowl was sans the ravioli with a little parmesan on top and probably more red pepper flakes than I needed, but it was delightful!

Delicious Beverage: As the weather is finally getting enjoyable, Johnny and I took a walk to the nearest coffee shop on our lunch break on Monday and I snagged my first iced coffee of the season! Just a decaf one with a wee bit of half and half and some sugar! Perfect!!

Snack: There have been times when I’ve asked myself over the last 30 weeks if I reaaaaally think I’m going to be a good mom. When I think about it, it’s so terrifying and exciting all at the same time. I feel like most great things are. (Like roller coasters!) Generally, I do. I think I’m going to be a pretty awesome Mom, actually. And I know that my hubalub is going to be an amazing Dad. I’ve already determined that my baby girl will lovingly be referred to as a number of food items as I’ve already started calling her “muffin” and “pumpkin” and “cupcake” when I talk to my belly. When I do have a moment of doubt, though, I remind myself that if I make snacks this pretty for myself – I’m going to make awesome snacks for my kids. Lol.

Snack: Carrots and hummus to tide me over.

Dinner: Johnny went out on Monday night so dinner was all up to me! I made myself a SEAT! Spinach, Egg, Avocado, and Tomato sandwich!! I found out at my last doctor’s appointment that I’m slightly anemic and I need to start taking iron supplements in addition to my prenatal vitamins. Although my diet is already fairly high in iron, it’s much higher in calcium, which can hinder iron absorption. I’ve been doing what I can since I found out to eat as many iron rich foods (like spinach and egg yolks!) as I can to make my body happier. I wilted two giant handfuls of spinach down in a small skillet and added two whole eggs that I cooked over hard. I plopped my spinachy eggs on some whole wheat toast with avocado and tomato slices. It was soooooooooooo delicious!! Sure, it’d probably be even better with bacon and cheddar cheese (but what wouldn’t be, really?), but I was trying to stay on board the health train.

Dessert:And obviously my day isn’t complete without sometttthing a little sweet to cap it all off. More peanut butter greek yogurt with chocolate chips please. Yes, the photo IS recycled….but that’s because I was too busy watching Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part II on ABC Family to bother snapping a photo of my snack when I had this perfectly good photo to reuse.

So that’s all she wrote, folks!! Next week I’ll be sharing some of my eats from my trip to SC!

What are your favorite snacks to bring on a road trip??
When you go out to eat on vacation, do you try to keep it healthy or do you prefer to indulge?
Are you a sucker for a Harry Potter weekend on ABC Family like me? Or can you resist?!

Ello’ loves!! (Yup, when I typed that I said it out loud with a British accent. Don’t judge me.)

I ‘ope you’re all splendid t’day! (Still British. Only more like Hagrid this time.)

I’m just chugging along this week looking forward to the weekend!! Sometimes, I can’t decided whether it’s good to always look forward to the weekend … or if it’s bad to not try and enjoy the present moment. I do what I can to enjoy the 40 hours a week I spend at work…but ya know…I’d rather be doing yoga… or eating. 😀

Oh well! At least we all always have What I Ate Wednesday to get us over the hump, right?! RIGHT!! [Shout out to Miss Jen at Peas and Crayons! Word up, chikadeee!]

I thought about doing what I ate Sunday this week…and I even started taking pictures of all my food. Theeeeeen I forgot. Oopsies!! So, instead, today you shall be observing my Monday. More specifically, my MEATLESS Monday. I love that I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I go days without eating meat and I don’t even notice it until I gather all of the photographic evidence together. Heh. It’s certainly not a bad habbit, amiright?!

Mmkkay enough jibber jabber. On to the food!!

Breakfast: Behold my latest breakfast obsession!! It’s glorious, I tell you. I take two Wegmans brand organic blueberry waffles and toast em up. I smear a tablespoon of peanut butter onto waffle number one right out of the toaster so that it gets all melty when you spread it. Then, I smother it all with a cup of frozen berries that I microwave for 45 seconds to warm through and turn into a delicious berry sauce. I top it with waffle number two and devour. It’s perfect. I love everything about it. Except for when I finish it…because all I want to do is keep eating it!!

Lunch: A huuuge delicious salad of spinach, cherry tomatoes, carrots, red onion, yellow bell pepper, avocado, and two sliced hard boiled eggs. I drizzled it with some balsamic vinegar and just a tiny bit of evoo. This is probably one of the simplest salads I make and every time I do I’m just like “BEST SALAD EVER WHY DON’T I MAKE THIS MORE.” Then I forget about it. Not this time, Jen. At least I hope!

Beverage: Johnny and I snagged some beverages on our lunch break on Monday. Sometimes we’ll just eat at our desks so we can get out of the office for an hour or so. I had one of the most bizarre hot chocolates of my life. I ordered a nonfat hot chocolate and the woman making it was like “would you like to try it with our sugar free syrup” and I was all “Yes, please.” Then I got it, and sipped it, and well…have you ever had like…a chocolate flavored hard candy? Where you’re like…this tastes kind of like chocolate…but it doesn’t really feel like I’m eating chocolate. Anyone? Bueller? Yeah – well that’s kind of what this tasted like. Definitely not something I would get again. But I enjoyed it while I had it. At least the foam on top was perrrfect!!

Snack: Gosh I’m dying for warm weather so I can eat cold snacks all the time!! I’m loving that it’s warm out now, but dreading that there is supposed to be snow again tonight. Come on, man! Sigh. Over the weekend, Johnny and I were discussing my recovery from baby this summer and I’ve officially decided that I’m really not worried about it. I always have a much easier time eating clean in the summer when I can grill everything and live off of fresh fruits and veggies and other delicious healthy things meant to be consumed cold! Liiiike icy cold greek yogurt mixed with a touch of peanut butter and honey to dip fresh, crisp apples in! (This apple – not the best. C’est la vie.)

Dinner: Melinda and I had a dinner date on Monday! We caught up on all of her weddding planning and all of my baby planning at Neato Burrito. It’s a Central PA Burrito place with a few locations. Personally – I like it waaaaaaaaaaay more than Chipotle. The hubby does not. Thus why I get it with Melinda. There loads of options for just about anyone. Melinda pretty much got a bowl of nachos with a little chicken and lots of veggies on top. I went with a burrito, which is rare for me, but I was in the mood for the wrap and not so much the rice. I had a jalapeno cheese wrap with their amazinggggg vegan Troegs three bean chili, just the tinnnnnniest bit of brown rice (just so it didn’t get too soggy from the chili), a wee bit of cheese, cilantro pesto, smoked chipotle salsa, lettuce, tomato, onion, and guacamole. Oh yeah, and I had them throw in a handful of crushed tortilla chips!! That’s kind of their thing. And it’s brilliant. Man. Everything about this burrito was perfect. I pretty much housed the whole thing, minus the last little bit of tortilla at the bottom that gets all folded up and actually contains no filling at all. (The worst part of burritos!!)

Well, I certainly loved my veggies on Monday! I’ve actually been loving them all week, like a boss. Salads for lunch. Stir fry for dinner. Tonight I’m making some chipotle chicken sausage wraps with my southwest slaw salad.

Ooopsie Daisy! It looks like I skipped over my WIAW #15 and did two #14s instead. Pregnancy brain. Oh wells. Onto #16!! As per usual (lately, anyway) here are my eats for Monday. I’m actually super pleased with my diet this week, I’ve been eating like a champion and definitely loving my veggies this month! I’m thinking perhaps I’ll share some weekend eats on Wednesday soon, just for funsies. I tend to eat a bit less healthy and more like a real person (like pizza!!) on the weekends. We shall see. Either way, big thanks to Jenn at Peas and Crayons for the fab link up!! If you’ve got a healthy recipe you’d like to share make sure to pop by tomorrow for round two of my Real Food Recipe Roundup linkup!! I’d love to see what some other folks are cooking out there, not just eating!!

Breakfast: I mentioned in my post on Monday that Central PA is in desperate need of a Trader Joes, annnnnnd this Multigrain Triple Berry with Flax and Chia Instant Hot Cereal has a lot to do with it. I snagged this box on Saturday and I don’t know what to do…because it’s amazing and I want to keep eating it… but I don’t want to run out, either!! I had one pack for breakfast on Sunday and it wasn’t enough…(then I proceeded to have a bowl of cantaloupe, 2 slices of leftover Margarita pizza, 4 brownie bites, and a glass of milk. Yeah, I should definitly give you guys a peek into my weekends, haha!) two packs on Monday did the trick!!! Oh my gosh, it’s so delicious and berry-y. Enjoyed with decaf earl gray – obvi.

Snack: I snacked happy Monday. Literalllyyyyyyyy. Oh gosh, look at me, I’m cheesin’ over here…ahhhh I did it again. Food puns for days!!!

Lunch: Lunch was pretty simple on Monday. I had a pita spread with a bit of roasted garlic hummus (obsessed!), a Morning Star Farms Mediterranean Chickpea Burger, some feta, romaine, and bell peppers.

Snack: Snack number two on Monday was is one of my faves! Since it’s been warm enough in my office I’m able to enjoy some cold snacks more often. I had some plain nonfat greek yogurt mixed with a tablespoon of peanut butter…and 1/2 a banana. I, personally, prefer my bananas suuuuuper ripe. This one was perfect … except for the big bruise it had about halfway down. About an hour later I was still a weeeeee bit hungry, so I nommed on two of my banana protein oat bites while I finished up my shopping list/meal plan for the week!

Dinner: We had dinner at Wegmans on Monday night, which we often do when we pick up groceries right after work instead of on Sunday. I love that Johnny and I can both get whatever we want!! He had a meatball sub and a Victory IPA. I enjoyed some sesame green beans (my FAVORITE option from the Hot Asian food bar at Wegmans), some broccoli and mushroom stir fry (which is new and was also super tasty!), and a California Summer Roll!! Although I still miss my tuna and salmon rolls, I’ll be pretty darn happy munching on these whenever a sushi craving hits until June.

Dessert: We’ll call this dessert, because it happened after dinner time, but I’m pretty darn pleased with my whole Monday of eating! My “dessert” was a fancy glass filled with Vanilla Almond Milk (which I only treat myself to when I have a coupon because I’m trying to be more fiscally responsible) and a handful of Blueberry flavored Craisins. Delish!!

So folks, what’s new with you?! I had a doctor’s appointment today and little miss Emma’s heart is thump-thump-thumping away while she tumbles around in my belly. Also, the doctor totally buttered me up today and told me I look AMAZING and that if he didn’t see my belly he’d have no idea I was pregnant!! Thanks for making my day, doc.

What’s the best thing you’ve eaten lately?

Have you been eating like a champion, too, or munching on some less healthy but equally delicious foods?

Breakfast: Breakfast Monday was a serving of my Scallion & Red Pepper Frittata with a super toasty half of a Wegmans brand whole wheat english muffin with 1 tbsp of smart balance and decaf tea. Scrumptious!

Snack: My first (of many) snacks on Monday was an ounce of pepper jack cheese on 6 triscuits and a clementine. Gosh I effing love cheese. We bought a food scale over the weekend to help with our portion control and apparently, I already portion control like a boss!! My first attempt at slicing an ounce of cheese was PERFECT! Woot! (It’s the little things in life, right?)

Lunch: I’m really trying to do what I can to get my veggies on this week. This weekend was certainly not the healthiest (such is my life lately) so I’m trying to make sure that during the week I’m a good girl and eat some salad. So I did! It was spring mix with orange and yellow bell pepper, red onion, tomatoes, and cucumbers with a tiny bit of balsamic and olive oil. I also had two of my Turkey Meatloaf Muffins that I prepped over the weekend! They’re super moist and delicious – though they probably would have been a little better if I added some salt when I made them. Oh wells! Next time, Jen!

Snacks, Snacks, Snacks: Boy do I snack a lot lately. Not gargantuan amounts of food, clearly, but in the afternoon I feel like I’m almost always munching on something. First, I had 4 of these little banana protein bites I made! They are essentially the same thing as my banana oat protein bars, only I ground the oats into oat flour and didn’t use any baking mix and added 1 tsp baking soda instead. And I made them in a mini muffin tin so they are perfectly snackable. These little guys are sooooo delicious and addicting and have 3g protein each!! Johnny loves them, too, which makes me sooooo happy!! Maybe an hour later I had an apple. I was so hungry I almost forgot to snap a picture, which is why there are a few bites taken out of it. OOPSIES!! Then about 30 minutes later I had a handful of raisins, and another 30 minutes or so later I had some carrots and roasted garlic hummus! SNACK MACHINE!

Dinner: I’m doing quite well sticking to my meal plan so far this week! Monday night we had a pretty late dinner, actually, because Johnny and I had to attend out Baby Pre-Hospital-Admission class right after work. In addition to filling out a bunch of paperwork now (so we don’t have to do it when I’m in labor) we got to learn about car seat safety and shaken baby syndrome. Not gonna lie… was noooot expecting that. It was a little heavy for me. But ya know, I took no shame crying about it in a room filled with other pregnant women! Even Johnny was like “Welp – I guess we’re never letting anyone else watch our baby…ever.” Heh. We’re also taking a Child Birth Prep Class in March, a Breastfeeding Class in April, and a Baby Boot Camp Class! I’m really looking forward to learning more. But ya know…that has nothing to do with my dinner…which is why we’re here after all, yes? Dinner was Minestrone Soup (based on the recipe in the link – minus the ravioli) with the other half of that english muffin from the morning rubbed with some garlic with some melty mozzarella on top. In lieu of dessert, but needing something sweet like the crazy preggo I am, I opted for a peach mango sparkling juice to go with my dinner. By the time I ate, cleaned up, and got our lunches together for Tuesday it was 9:30 annnnnd I was sleepy. So I put on some pjs, snuggled with Q and my book (reading Allegiant right now) and fell asleep by 10!

Sigh. I’m so irritated by the lighting in our kitchen. I’ve been meaning to construct a light box to improve my photos at home. Granted, I take my WIAW pictures on my camera phone for ease and the ones I take with my camera come out much nicer. But the perfectionist in me is always super annoyed when I see how nice all of my daytime pictures come out and how my dinner ones always look like butt. #FoodBloggerProblems.

What are some of your most obnoxious #FoodBloggerProblems?!

Are you reading anything good right now? I would LOVE a few recommendations!

Do you food prep and meal plan? Send me a link to some of your ideas!!